Start of Something
by Girl Of Hope
Summary: It took a second for their eyes to meet, a minute to become friends, an hour for Troy to interlock his fingers with hers. And a night to realise nothing could happen between them. Or maybe something can?


**_A.N. My first try on years at a HSM story and this one is actually being posted. It's a one shot, and it turned out longer than I expected. Originally they were supposed to be young children meeting for the first time, but I though at the last minute I'd go back to when they first met in the first movie and alter it a bit. Okay, a lot. It's still cute though, you'll see! So, I'm an 18 year old writing this, so don't judge me, there is a small part of me that will always love these movies, and I hope anyone that reads this is the same. So, enjoy. And let me know if I should do any HSM stuff in the future, because it did try to a few years ago and it didn't work out, but nowadays I have a lot more inspiration going through me so I can write a lot more. :)_**

Troy didn't want to be on this holiday in the first place. The only upside to the vacation was the ski lodge he and his parents were staying at had a basketball court inside, where Troy and his father would practise to sharpen Troy's basketball skills. It was his parents who suggested they go to a ski lodge that week for New Year's Eve and Day, they said that Troy, "Might end up liking cold weather if he stayed in it for a while." No, Troy Bolton hated cold weather, snow and not being able to sweat no matter how hard he worked out in a gym or played in the court.

There was no upside to freezing cold weather, especially how it was on December 31st on the count down to the New Year.

Troy was practising his jump shots with his dad playing as defence. The ball hit the backboard and bounced off the hoop rim once before falling through the hoop, slowed down by the net. His dad rolled the ball in his hands as he walked closer to his son.

"Ready for the game next season?" Troy nodded, wiping his hairline. _Still no sweat,_ he thought. Momentarily looking over his father's shoulder, Troy noticed his mother walking through the doors of the court. She looked beautiful in her classy (yet somehow casual) attire. He smiled at her and saw his dad was already at her side, giving a small kiss to her cheek. The pair had been married for about twenty years, and they looked like they were still teenagers in love in high school. Something that Troy didn't know of.

It was true, despite being one of the most popular guys in the school of East High, Troy hadn't been in any kind of romantic relationship with any of the girls there. Yeah, he was friends with many of the girls, but he wouldn't have dated any one of them. Maybe he needed a fresh start with someone, who didn't know he was the MVP for his school's basketball team and the coach's son, a person who just saw him. Just like how his parent's fell in love.

"Troy, go shower up and change. There's a kids party upstairs." Troy looked at his mother with a raised eyebrow and his mouth slightly opened.

"'Kids party'?" He repeated. His mother corrected herself.

"Young adults. Now go on, shower and clean up." She patted his back as he walked to the doors leading to the hallway. Troy had gone back to their room, showered, dried and brushed his hair, changed into some of his nicer looking clothes. Then he proceeded to set off to the social gathering of teenagers and young adults (most were around Troy's age) where everyone held soft drinks in their cups, talking to random people they had met on this holiday. There were some couples cuddling in booths with friends, a few making out in public caused Troy to train his eyes somewhere else, anywhere else.

And he was happy he had!

Across the room, sitting at a table with a thick hardcover book in hand, was a girl; a very beautiful girl. Her hair was dark, almost to the point of the brown being closer to a black shade, which hung in ringlets past her shoulders. Troy couldn't tell if her dark skin had make-up on, but he hoped she didn't have much on if any. Her sweater was a light green colour with a small necklace hanging around her neck that stopped just past the top stitching of the sweater. Somehow her light coloured jeans and blue ugg boots suited the sweater and her skin perfectly. There was a tiny smile on her face as she read her book in silence.

It was then that Troy noticed another detail about the girl; she was all alone. From behind her, a small band of girls giggled, one pointing in her direction. The girl was either deaf to their making fun of her, or she simply ignored them._Probably jealous because she is prettier than all of them combined, _Troy shook his head at the thought. He hadn't even moved from his spot yet and already he was comparing one girl to the rest of the room. But the fact was, there hadn't been anyone who's looks had struck Troy in such a way. A lot of the girls at his school tried to hard, most wearing too much make-up, flinging themselves in the direction of any boy they liked. Sharpay was the worst for that behaviour, she followed Troy around, locking their arms together as they walked the school hallways. Troy had always just been too polite to say 'No' to the blonde girl.

His feet had started to move, with no knowledge that his body knew what was happening. A few seconds later, Troy found himself sitting opposite the girl on a stool, hearing the giggling from the girls at the nearby table stop. Pausing to look up from her book, the girl looked over her shoulder at the girls. They had shocked looks on their faces. Her head turned to do a 180 spin, where she saw a boy in front of her, a smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. She smiled back at him, them looked from his mouth up to his eyes. They were a deep blue, going well with his skin tone and hair colour. It clicked in her head that he was the reason the girls stopped laughing at her; this guy had come to sit with her.

"Hello," the boy started, slowly out stretching his hand. "I'm Troy."

"Gabriella, pleasure to meet you." Gabriella took Troy's hand and shook it. Both of their smiles grew larger to full grins when their hands touched for the friendly exchange. Both hands slipped from the grasp and the pair returned to looking at each other. They had stayed like that for a few moments, before one started asking questions, the two sharing answers back and forth. Getting to know one another better as the time slowly went by.

It was almost midnight by the time they had stepped outside, still talking together as if they had known each other longer. Troy leaned his forearms on the railing of the balcony and Gabriella held onto it with her hands. There was a thin layer of snow on the railing, and Troy noted that Gabriella's hands were spotted with pinky red spots on the back of her hand. His left hand, far larger than Gabriella's hand, took her right one slowly. Gabriella didn't pull her hand away like Troy guessed she would have, but instead turned it so their fingers locked together. A flush of pink rose to Troy's cheeks in embarrassment for a few seconds. He was holding this girl's hand, only meeting her an hour prior. Was this how little kindergartens felt whenever they held hands with someone they had a crush on?

Gabriella pointed a hand up to the sky, Troy had followed it. Up above them, fireworks were going off in bright colours, some even forming shapes like stars and love hearts. Both teens had smiles on their faces, looking at the fireworks, then Troy glanced down to Gabriella. She had moved closer to his side, giggling at the sight in front of her. A few snowflakes had fallen into her dark brown hair and onto her long eyelashes. The fireworks ended almost a quickly as they started, drawing Gabriella's attention from the sky to who was standing next to her.

Gripping Troy's hand tighter, Gabriella moved to her tiptoes, lips aiming for his cheek. But flesh wasn't what her lips touched. Troy had moved his head to the side, without seeing what Gabriella was doing for a second. And by that time, their lips were together.

Their kiss was short and sweet, and the pair of teens still had their hands locked together. Neither had smiled so much in one night, but having their first kiss was worth it.

The almost heartbreaking truth for Troy was that he had to go back to school in a couple of weeks, and probably wouldn't see Gabriella again. Pressing his lips to Gabriella's forehead, Troy bid her a goodnight, exchanging his phone number to her in the process. Troy reluctantly let go of her hand; he walked out of the room to the room his parents rented for them.

His first kiss was with a girl he wouldn't see again! Troy groaned angrily as he flopped down onto his bed. He didn't kick his shoes off, didn't change his clothes or even shut the curtains that hung above his bed. Troy just slept, a tear rolling down the side of his face when he realised the truth of his dilemma.

~Two weeks later~

Troy hadn't gone by a day without thinking about Gabriella, and tried to find her the next morning before he left the ski lodge, only to leave without a proper goodbye to her. His parents had noticed he was looking for someone, and when asking Troy who the person was the subject had been changed instantly.

Now he was back at school, sitting in his roll call class with his best friend Chad in front of him. Other members of the Wildcats basketball team where present in the room; most where in other classrooms. That was when Troy's eyes widened for a moment. Standing in the doorway, looking nervous and she pulled out a slip of paper, was Gabriella. She was introduced to Taylor, who pulled her to a seat at the back corner of the classroom. Troy took a second to glance back at her, and he could see she was trying to suppress a smile.

The bell rang loudly, and nearly ever student raced for the door. Both Gabriella and Troy were slow to gather their belongings. Troy held onto Gabriella's hand, turning to her.

"I had no idea you went to school here!" Troy exclaimed, trying to keep his voice to a whisper. He hid their hands to anone passing them behind the small space they hadn't the back of their bodies being close.

"My mum transfered here for a job. When I left the lodge, I couldn't find you, and then I found out I had lost my phone somewhere." Gabriella pulled out a new phone from her bag which almost clung to her hip. "I had lost your number, so I couldn't call you to tell you. Sorry, Troy."

"What happened, happened. But you're here now, that's awesome!" Gabriella nodded. She had been promised that she and her mother wouldn't be moving until Gabriella graduated. Maybe she actually could have a chance at a relationship. Troy kissed her cheek when he looked around; no other person was in the hallway and he could already tell that the pair were late for their first class. Not that it really matter much to Troy at that point, he had Gabriella with him.


End file.
